Samsung to Launch Gear 360 Pro with Galaxy S8, Support iOS?

Virtual Reality has now become a very real reality, and for the majority of us the best way of getting to Virtual Reality content is through our smartphones. Thanks to the inexpensive options offered by many manufacturers, a simple headset can turn our smartphones into pretty powerful VR machines. Samsung said as much during this year's Mobile World Congress, where they launched not just the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, but also the Gear 360, Samsung's first attempt at a simple VR camera. The Gear 360 is something that will appeal to a lot of people looking to capture the world in 360-degrees without the associated cost, or hassle. Now, according to a new report a "Pro" model could be launching next year.

In amongst all of the bad press that Samsung continues to get for the Galaxy Note 7's explosive problems, the world seems to have turned their attention to the future for Samsung, which is undeniably the Galaxy S8. While it's thought that February 26th is the launch date for the new smartphone from Samsung, a new report from SamMobile ponders whether or not the firm is to release a new Gear 360 Pro camera. There's little information to go along with this, aside from the name "Pro", and while it's likely that Samsung will introduce some sort of follow-up to the original Gear 360, it's tough to imagine what a "Pro" version would be. Especially given that professional-grade VR cameras often cost tens of thousands of dollars, and come with teams of people just to operate them. Of course, if Samsung can figure out a way to improve the overall end result from the Gear 360 and offer a version with higher resolution and higher frame rates, then the "Pro" moniker might not end up being all that misplaced in the long run.

Samsung has been beta testing software to get the Gear 360 and iOS to talk together as well, and it's possible that their press conference during Mobile World Congress will be when and where the firm announce iOS support for the Gear 360 line. While the Gear 360 is Samsung's first foray into the world of VR capture, it hasn't enjoyed that big of a launch here in the US, and only launched over the Summer, despite having been announced way back in March alongside the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.

For years now I've had a heavy interest in technology, growing up with 8-bit computers and gaming consoles has fed into an addiction to everything that beeps. Android saved me from the boredom of iOS years ago and I love watching the platform grow. As an avid reader and writer nothing pleases me more than to write about the exciting world of Android, Google and mobile technology as a whole.